Hot Chocolate
by SonYukiGoku'sSister
Summary: Gwendal finds a listening ear in the last place he would look. Sequel to 'Conrad's Lullaby' and 'Hearing the Heartbeat'. Song: 'My Funny Friend and Me'


Hot chocolate

_**Author's note: I've always wanted to make a story where someone would listen to Gwendal, and well... here it is. Hope you like.**_

No matter hard Gwendal tried to relax, he still could not sleep peacefully.

_In the quiet time of evening_

And it was not raining!

_When the stars assume their patterns_

Giving up, he got up and made his rounds – again! It's not like he would get any sleep this night anyway.

As he walked towards the terrace where he ad been with Conrad and Wolfram, he heard some sounds coming from the kitchen. Nobody ought to be awake at this time of night. Wondering if they had an uninvited guest, Gwendal crept slowly down the hallway to the kitchen. He heard footsteps and something beginning to boil as he reached the door.

Ever so quietly he opened the door and let himself in. The stove was on, there was a pot with warm milky smell from it. Someone was moving around the kitchen, and adding contents into the pot. Gwendal wait until the intruder laid the ingredients down before slowly unsheathing his sword.

_And the day has made his journey_

He held his sword point between the shoulder blades and spoke in a deadly quiet voice. "Hold it right there!" The figure stiffened. It was dark even with the candle light.

_And we wondered just what happened_

"Turn around!" he barked. The figure shivered slightly and turned slowly. Gwendal groaned inwardly, why oh why did it have to be _him_ of all people?

_To the life we knew before the world changed_

Before him was a very surprised King Yuri; his hands held up in surrender.

"What are you doing up?" Gwendal asked pointedly, sheathing his sword.

"Making hot chocolate?" said Yuri, lowering his hands. Gwendal glared at him, demanding explanation.

_When not a thing I held was true_

"I couldn't sleep and I didn't want to disturb anyone," Yuri explained, not as intimidated by his advisor's stare as he used to be, "so I've made some hot chocolate, Mom told me that it was an easy

_But you were kind to me and you reminded me_

way to help people sleep, have you ever had some?"

_That the world is not my playground_

"Some of the time," Gwendal answered, impressed that the king knew at least an iota of cooking.

_There are other things that matter  
__And when a simple needs protecting _

"Why don't you join me?" Yuri invited, "I've made enough for two."

_My illusions all would shatter  
__But you stayed in my corner_

They found themselves sitting the same bench Gwendal had found Conrad brooding not too long ago and where he ahd comforted Wolfram weeks before then. The stars were out, twinkling the dark sky with their silver glory. As much as he tried to enjoy the quiet night, Gwendal still could not shake off the dread in his heart – when Conrad nearly died... again.

_The only world I knew was upside down  
__And now the world and me, I know you carry me_

A lot of things usually escaped Yuri's eye and it should not be a surprise to him that Gwendal was the silent one of the three brothers. But seeing him awake at this time of was rather unnerving.

"Is something bothering you, Gwen?" Yuri asked, calling his advisor out of his musing.

_You see the patterns in the big sky_

"No," Gwendal lied.

_Those constellations look like you and I_

"Liar," Yuri said gently.

_Just like the patterns in the big sky_

Gwendal looked up and saw that his boss – a kid for a boss? Yeah, right... – was looking at him, genuinely concerned.

_We could be lost we could refuse to try_

There was a soft smile in his lips, telling the man who was at least a century older than he that he would listen. What was more surprising was that the king had accused him of lying. No one in the right mind had the guts to call Lord Von Voltaire a liar. But then, there were times when Gwendal wondered about his king's sanity.

_But we made it through in the dark night_

Yuri, however, was gentle with the accusation. He knew somewhere deep inside his stern adviser needed a listening ear, just like Lady Celi and her gentle finger-poking-forehead reminders to him not to frown so much. Gwendal looked down at his mug of hot chocolate, which was rather good, creamy with milk and a lot of cocoa, sweetened with a teaspoon of sugar and, strangely, a pinch of salt to bring out the flavour.

_Would those lucky guys turn out to be_

"I much rather not talk about it," Gwendal murmured. He was the eldest, he was supposed to hide his fear!

_But that unusual blend of my funny friend and me_

"It'll only be worse if you keep it all inside," Yuri told him, "You'll feel better when you let it out."

_I'm not as clever as I thought I was_

Gwendal looked at the boy.

_I'm not the boy I used to be because_

Yuri had grown a lot since they had first met. As much as it was to his chagrin that the boy was unmarred by war, and ridiculously naive, he was kind and considerate - not to mention he was always ready to help others who were in serious need. Just as long as the job was not too big or too small. Now that Gwendal thought about it, Yuri was always there when someone needed a listening ear.

He could trust Yuri...

_You showed me something different, you showed me something pure_

"I guess you could say, I'm scared..." Gwendal confessed, "I'm always scared for them... I know I cannot protect them forever... and I know they're grown up..."

Yuri nodded. "Continue.."

_I always seemed so certain but I was really never sure_

Gwendal was beginning to wonder why he was telling this kid, who had neither war experiences nor younger siblings, his feelings; but now that he started, how could he stop?

_But you stayed and you called my name  
__When others would have walked out on a lousy game_

"When Conrart went to Luttenberg, I was so afraid he was going to die..." Gwendal continued, "Just like in Francia... I-I couldn't understand why he did it... when I did... I almost thought I lost him."

_And you could've made it through  
__But my funny friend and me_

"He was always protecting Wolfram, even when Wolfram did not want it," Gwendal confessed, "but I wasn't there to protect him even if... he came back alive."

He was starting to get angry; angry at his king for constantly putting his brothers in danger, "And when you came along..."

_You see the patterns in the big sky_

Yuri nodded, empathising with the big man. Because all three brothers were his men, they were forced to pledge their lives for him. The incident involving three of the Forbidden Boxes had nearly cost them Conrad's life. "I'll try not to be so reckless next time..."

_Those constellations look like you and I_

Gwendal snorted, anger ebbing away at the sincerity of the promise, "Don't make any promises you can't keep."

_That tiny planet in a bigger guy_

"But..." Yuri started trying to be calm and collective.

Gwendal smiled. Yuri was so innocent sometimes.

_I don't know whether I should laugh or cry_

"One thing's for certain," the stern adviser said, "You would not put them in danger intentionally."

_If I had to do this all a second time_

"We follow you because you do the best you can to protect everyone," he continued, "even if I often had to chase you to do paperwork." Yuri laughed. Gwendal joined in recognising the joke he made. Everything was all right again.

_I won't complain or make a fuss_

"Thanks for listening, Yuri," said Gwendal, relieved to have the fear off his chest.

_When the angels sing that that unlikely blend_

Yuri squeezed his sdhoulder as they continued to gaze up to the stars, "It's part of my job."

_Are those two funny friends_

Not that Gwendal remembered. But Yuri was right about one thing, he did feel better after their conversation. Gwendal felt himself truly beginning to like the boy king. The hot chocolate helped too. Maybe he ought to ask Yuri for the recipe in case either Conrad or Wolfram got scared by the storm or needed to talk to him in the middle of the night or maybe just for the sake of it.

Yes, Yuri would bring great changes to Shin Makoku.

_That's us_


End file.
